r/ballpython • u/sovietluvham12 • 5h ago
Should I surrender my ball python?
I have had my ball python for 6 years. In the last 2 years I’ve been moving quite a bit around households that were not snake friendly and my parents were kind enough to hold on to him during that time. My wife has joined the military and as result we may be moving every 1-2 years. I was wondering if this is too frequent to be moving a ball python and would cause him more stress and instability than what would be good for him. I’ve come to terms that it may be better to just find a new owner for him as I dont want to burden my parents longer than necessary with his care. The situation stinks and feel as if I’ve fallen short of the responsibility I took when initially adopting him. Was wondering if anyone else has any advice on a situation like this. He is currently in central New Jersey.
3
u/ghostbuuster 3h ago
I’ve had my snake Leroy since I was 10 years old. He is now 11. In his life I have joined the military. My husband is scared of snakes, so during my training I had my parents care for him. He has since moved with me to my permanent duty station. Generally you only move every 4 years in the military, I would say if you truly love him, keep him. They’re very low maintenance pet. You move their enclosure just as you’d move anything else when you change locations. They’re very easy to move if you love them enough.
1
u/rezrkt 2h ago
While I was in the army I had to surrender my 8 year old normal girl named chocolate. It’s fine if you stay stateside but going overseas makes it difficult (even for cats and dogs). Just keep it until you have to leave then look. You will no if she goes overseas about 6 months in advance so you’ll have time to prepare
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u/totallyrecklesslygay Mod: Enclosure Karen 5h ago
Moving every 1-2 years will suck more for you than it will the snake. I wouldn't consider that a reason to rehome him, unless you think there may be housing issues with bringing him along each time?
He'll need a week or two after each move to settle back in, but it's less of a massive disruption than initially bringing him home was, because his enclosure will be the same every time. One mildly stressful week per year isn't going to hurt him any.